


Food Means Family

by Jajajaja



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29297073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jajajaja/pseuds/Jajajaja
Summary: Five years in the future, Travis and Jack visit Vic at home on maternity leave. Just a glance at these fools' happy lives in the future.
Relationships: Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	Food Means Family

“Huh,” Vic gasped as she startled awake. Someone was knocking at the door while ringing the doorbell incessantly. She rolled off of the couch and ran for the door, flinging on her robe and muttering, “Shut up, shut up, shut up,” under her breath. 

She shifted the blinds and peered through the windows by her front door. She opened it and was greeted by Jack and Travis, carrying a mountain of Tupperware containers. They beamed at her, and she was quite a sight to behold. Her face was creased with pillow marks from her recent nap. Her curly hair sat in a messy bun, precariously perched on the top of her head. Her robe had a wet-looking stain on the collar, and the first words out of her mouth were a whisper-shouted “Shut up!”

“Hello to you too, sunshine,” Travis responded, his smile not wavering.

“You know what happens when you make so much noise?” she said forcefully. “The baby wakes up. And you know what happens when the baby wakes up? I don’t get my sleep. And you know what happens when I don’t sleep for two days? I--”

“You murder us and make it look like an accident. Got it,” Travis interrupted. “Can we come in and drop these off?” he asked, already pushing his way into the house.

“Unbelievable,” she said, throwing her hands up in defeat and following him into the kitchen.

“Alright,” Jack said to himself. He walked in and closed the door behind him. 

In the kitchen, Travis showed off the haul to Vic as he placed item after item into her fridge. “We also brought lunch,” Jack said, placing a paper bag on the kitchen island. “Fish tacos, hold the raw onion. Extra limes in the bag.”

“Oh my god, I love you, I love you,” Vic said, reaching for the tacos.

“They’re not all for you,” Travis said, closing the refrigerator door. 

Jack pulled out one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter and tucked into his lunch. They ate in silence, Vic standing at the countertop across from where Travis and Jack sat. She inhaled a taco before pausing to grab water bottles for each of them. Her friends nodded in thanks.

“I really needed that,” she said. “I swear to God, this child was sent here to torture me. She wakes up every hour and cries and cries, and I can never tell what the hell she wants. It’s like the universe saw that I took care of Pru for a few months and decided to give me an advanced difficulty level baby.” As if on cue, a wail sounded from the baby monitor in the living room.

“I’ll go get her,” Travis said. “Finish your lunch.” She mouthed a thank you.

Travis walked upstairs to a brightly colored room and found the source of the wailing in her crib. Her little face red and scrunched up with the effort of making such a loud noise.

“There’s my little princess,” Travis cooed, scooping her out of the crib. He rocked her back and forth as he walked around the room. “Are we giving Mama a hard time? Is it because Mama still owes Uncle Travis twenty dollars from that bet she lost five months ago? Yes, it is. Yes, it is.”

Downstairs, Jack snickered. They could hear the entire conversation through the baby monitor. Travis’s voice crackled through the machine. “Your mama is a sore loser. You know that?”

“Stop badmouthing me to my own daughter, Montgomery!” Vic yelled up the stairs.

As he walked around the room, the baby’s cries calmed down, and she laid contently in his arms. “Should we go downstairs?” he asked her. “Huh? Huh? Let’s go make your mama pay up because Uncle Travis is going to keep reminding her that she can’t get away with this. Let’s go.” 

He delivered a quiet baby to Vic’s waiting arms. “Hi, baby girl,” she said as she bounced back and forth. “It’s almost time for you to eat.”

“Breast milk in the freezer?” Jack asked, moving towards the refrigerator.

“Fridge,” Vic said, turning to face him. 

“Got it.”

“There’s a big bowl on the windowsill above the sink,” Vic said, gesturing with her chin. “Fill the bowl with-”

“Warm water,” Jack finished. “I know. This isn’t the first Station 19 baby.”

“Don’t talk to me about Station 19. You  _ left  _ us, remember?” Vic said.

“I thought we all said that we were going to be cool about this,” Jack said. “Besides I didn’t leave you guys. I went to work for the Fire Academy. Same department.”

“Traitor.”

Travis laughed. “Cut him some slack. It’s not like he left us for another station like Andy did, right?”

“Right. Thank you,” Jack said, pointing at Travis. He set the cold bottle in the bowl of warm water and went back to the countertop to clean up the remains of his lunch.

“Well, that’s not fair,” Vic said, defending Andy. “She had to leave to get promoted to captain. I mean, if you ask me, I would rather be a lieutenant at 19 than the captain of 23-”

“You are,” Travis interrupted.

“-but it’s Andy’s life, and I support her.”

“What about me?” Jack said.

“Uncle Jack is a Benedict Arnold,” Vic said to her baby, still bouncing her.

Travis reached for the baby, and Vic transferred her to his arms. “This is what we call a double standard,” he said to the baby. “Can you say double standard?”

Vic pulled the bottle out of the warm water and tested it on her hand.

“Can I feed her?” Travis asked.

“Sure.”

Travis took the baby into the living room and gave her the bottle, while Jack helped Vic clean up in the kitchen.

“You’re just being mean to me because you miss me,” Jack said.

Vic scoffed. “As if.”

“It’s true. Montgomery, tell Hughie it’s true.”

“It’s true,” Travis called from the other room.

“No, what I do miss is work. Fire. Adrenaline. Getting to leave the house everyday,” Vic moaned. She and Jack joined them in the living room. “How come Ripley gets to be back at work already, and I’m still at home?”

“You still call your husband Ripley?” Jack asked. At the same time, Travis answered, “Because you're recovering from major abdominal surgery.”

“It’s just a little C-section.”

“There is no such thing as a little C-section,” Jack quipped.

“Whatever.” Vic turned her attention towards Travis. “Just tell me a story about work, huh?” Her eyes looked longing. “An apartment fire? Sinkhole? A birthday candle that got overexcited? Just give me something, please.”

“You sound like an addict,” Travis chuckled.

“I’ll tell you a story about work,” Jack offered.

“Gibson, if I wanted to hear about kids who think they know everything, I would have become a high school teacher.”

“You know my students are full adults.”

“Trav?” she prompted. He said nothing, ignoring her in favor of the baby.

“You should have taken up my offer when you had the chance.”

“Oh, I should have, huh?” she responded mockingly. “I’m taking a nap. Might as well exploit the free child care while I’ve got it.” She snuggled back into her couch.

Jack stood up. “Actually, I have to get going.”

“Didn’t you guys drive here together?” she asked, peeking from underneath the blanket.

“It’s okay,” Travis assured her. “I’ll get James to pick me up later.”

“Bye, kiddo,” Jack said, waving to the baby. “Later, Travis, Hughie,” Jack said, patting Vic on the head.

“My hair is so messed up this might as well happen,” she huffed. 

“Later, Gibson,” Travis said.

Vic pushed the blanked off of herself and followed Jack to the front door. “Talk to you later, man. Thanks for the food,” she said, locking the door behind him.

She threw her exhausted body back onto the couch.

“Sleep,” Travis said. “Seriously, I got her. The rest of my day is free anyways, and I’ll switch off with Riples when he gets home. You need a break.”

“Thank you. Wake me up if anything happens with her,” Vic said, arranging the blanket back on top of herself. “You can’t call your boss Riples,” she said from under the blanket.

“He’s my best friend’s husband. I’ll call him what I want. And we’ll be fine. Sleep.”

“Insubordinate ass is gonna get himself fired,” she muttered to herself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

\---------

Lucas unlocked the front door and quietly deposited his shoes and bag in the coat closet. The house was dark, but the TV flickered from the living room. “Vic?” he whispered.

“She's asleep,” Travis said quietly. Old episodes of a syndicated show played on the TV, and the baby snoozed in his arms. Vic snored softly from the couch.

“Montgomery,” he said in greeting.

“Chief.”

“You know you can call me Lucas when we’re off the clock.”

“I’d rather not get in the habit.”

“That’s not what Vic told me,” he said, chuckling. Travis laughed too. “How long has she been asleep?”

“About two hours on and off,” he said, looking down at the baby. “And Vic’s been out for like four.”

Lucas smiled wistfully in his wife’s direction. “Can I get you a beer or something? We can watch the match I recorded this morning.”

“As much as I would love to, I already texted James to pick me up when I heard you pulling into the driveway. Another time?”

“Absolutely.”

“Also, there’s a bunch of food in the fridge. Gibson and I are feeding you guys for this week.”

“Thank you,” Lucas said. “We’re so lucky to have you guys.”

“No worries,” Travis said. “It’s a 19 tradition. Go get your dinner heated up. I’ll let you know when I have to head out.”

“Thanks,” he said again, and got to work exploring his dinner options.

About five minutes later, Travis’s phone dinged with a message from his boyfriend. He gingerly stood up and went to find Lucas in the kitchen. “James is out front. Do you want me to put the baby upstairs in her crib or...?”

“I’ll take her,” he said. ”Thanks a million, Montgomery.” Travis carefully transferred her. She fussed a little then went back to sleep.

“See you soon, Chief.”

“See you soon. Tell James I said hi. And tell him to text me about that trade. My fantasy football team is getting its ass whipped.”

“Will do,” Travis said with a laugh.

Ripley locked the door behind him and went back to the kitchen. He carefully moved the baby so that he had one arm free to finish preparing his dinner. The microwave counted down, and he pulled his food out a second before it beeped. 

He set his dinner up at the table, slowed by the fact that he was operating with only one hand. Lucas decided to take the baby upstairs because eating while holding her was going to be a less than optimal experience.

When he came back downstairs, he found Vic rooting around in the fridge. She heard his footsteps and turned to him. “Hey, babe,” she said.

“Hey,” he said, wrapping her in a big hug. She looked warm and rested.

“Did Travis leave?” she asked, still in the embrace.

“Yeah, not that long ago.”

“I’ll text him thanks.”

“Sure,” he said into her neck, still not ready to let go.

“Anything good happen at work? Popcorn factory explosion? Restaurant kitchen fire?”

“Nah, just a paperwork and meetings day. You know if there was anything big enough for me to get called in on, you would have seen it on the news. I know you have your news apps set to notify you if the keywords Seattle and fire show up in anything.”

“I know,” she said. He chuckled, and she felt his chest rumble against her. She looked up at him. He tilted his chin down to look at her, and she kissed him. “Wait for me to heat my dinner up, and we’ll eat together.”

“Okay.” They stood hugging in front of the fridge. “You have to let go of me for that to happen.”

“Allegedly.”


End file.
